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JPMorgan analysts started Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) at Neutral with a $42 per share price target on Monday.
Cloudflare shares are down around 0.9% at the time of writing. However, in 2022, the stock has tumbled by almost 65%.
They explained in a note to clients that the firm’s assessment of Cloudflare’s technology, execution, and large market opportunity is “highly positive” and said it remains one of the few software vendors maintaining an aggressive, growth-oriented focus with the intent to continue hiring and operating near break-even as it pursues $5 billion in annualized revenue over the next five years.
“However, as Cloudflare correctly anticipated earlier this year, the macroeconomic slowdown is causing its top line to decelerate while some customers downshift into the free customer tier and a couple of leadership roles are turning over. We see a tough short-term road ahead even for the stocks of elite high-growth software leaders such as Cloudflare, as further slowing looks likely and value/GARP stocks tend to outperform during periods of economic slowdown,” the analysts wrote.
They added that when the firm “mark NET shares to software companies with similar growth/margin/cash flow profiles, the shares appear fully valued for now, resulting in a balanced risk-reward profile.”
